Mind Numbing

My eyes have started to cross now that I'm 4 days into sitting at home, "resting" my knee, and finding things to occupy all of this free time!

I have watched more (bad, British) t.v. in the last week than I have watched in the last year. Highlights include Murder at 1600, old episodes of Laguna Beach, and random cooking shows especially the one where Heston Blumenthal tried to perfect frozen ice cream. Ahhh-I'm officially going crazy!

In these last few days, I've also managed to make a hell of a lot of jewellery. Thank god I took that jewellery class last year because the hours I've spent stringing little beads onto tiny pieces of wire would otherwise have been spent watching...t.v.! Above are a few pictures of my masterpieces. If there is one good thing about this situation it is that it has given me time to make holiday jewellery presents (ok, not something that I originally planned but I don't expect to be hobbling around the shops anytime soon!)

An even bigger highlight of my day yesterday was that my cast cover for the shower arrived. (Everyone rejoice!) It will save me the necessary 20 minutes saran wrapping (that is cling film for the Brits out there) my cast and then tying 3 bags around it so that it is NASA proof against water. I was wholly proud of myself yesterday for the outcome as I managed to take my first sans water shower yesterday. Yee haw!


My latest goal is to secure a seat on an airplane home for the holidays. When I called Virgin (who I originally booked my ticket with for December holiday), they told me I would only be allowed to fly in Upper Class. That's great and all, but I can't spend £4,000 pounds for a ticket home for the holidays. I've looked into SilverJet, and United and American business classes. Both United and American were relatively easy in their answer and told me all I would need is a doctor's note stating that I could fly. SilverJet (the business class only airlines) is still waiting to get back to me.

Later today, I'm venturing out of the flat for a much-needed haircut (this should be interesting getting into the chair) and a friends' drinks. Oh the simple pleasures of life-I CANNOT WAIT!

Not So Happy Feet

It all started last Friday when I travelled to Madrid for the weekend. It was supposed to be a weekend of fun, tapas, sangria, OLE! I met my friend and we went for a late night beer. On our way back from 1 beer (I swear), I lost my footing and my right slipped out from underneath me. I landed SMACK onto my left knee cap. In pain, I could hear a Spanish couple beside me gasp and my friend quickly ran to the McDonalds (thank god for globalization!) and proceeded in broken spanish to ask for..."ice cream...no, ice, por favor!".

Hobbling back to our hotel, I cursed the powers above and my tapas dreams seemed dashed! I could barely lift my knee without any excruciating pain and walking around was almost impossible. Ice, elevation, and a bit of nausea and I quickly passed out on the bed in my clothes!

Saturday and Sunday, despite everything, were great. I managed to hobble around Madrid and see the Prado (gorgeous fabric wallpaper and my long awaited view of Las Meninas by Velazquez). We meandered around the tiny streets of Chuhueca and grabbed a beer and delicious tapas of pate, breadsticks, manchego and of course, jamon, which was cut from a huge leg staged in the front window. The food melted my knee troubles away! I even managed a guest appearance at El Corte Ingles, the formidable Spanish department-everything store in the heart of Madrid with crowds to match.

The highlight of our trip was a visit to a tiny tapas restaurant called "Juana la loca". We were ordering a bottle of "tinto" at the bar and my friends struck up a conversation with none other than the restaurant owner (Juana, the crazy? perhaps!) who insisted we order the most "fabulous" bottle of red wine (ok, she was right!) and also advised our food ordering. We shared: bonito fish carpaccio with soy glaze, sashimi covered with garlic mayonnaise (bring on the calories!), tagliolinni with parmesan flakes and black truffle oil, and last but not least, a deep fried soft shell crab in a Chinese bun with avocado mayonnaise and radicchio. We even managed to devour dessert, not as impressive but worth a try. We finally enjoyed a last glass of vino on the house to top everything off.

Now, here is when the story takes a real calorie-laden turn. We all realized it was way too cold to continue our aimless wandering while miraculously someone remembered "La Chocolateria", the haven for churos and chocolade (drinkable chocolate!). We were there pronto enjoying our churros (a heaping plate full) with the barely there tissue paper napkins soaking up the greasy goodness from our fingers. Not that I would recommend this every day, but it was just what the doctor ordered--smooth, chocolately and the churros (no sugar on them like the ones in NY) gave it a warm, crispy crunch.

Back to the UK on Sunday night, Monday in the A&E, five hours later:
see above.

Another weekend gone...

It's been too long since my last blog. And there have been too many things that have happened since...like:
1. Halloween: not the same as the US. The majority of trick or treaters I heard here in Chelsea were, you guessed it: Americans.
2. Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Night: Remember, remember the 5th of November)
3. Julia and Kerem's visit to London: too much fun and pints consumed. I miss them :(
4. My first ever football game (Chelsea versus Leicester City)
5. Israel (warm, beaches, great food) trip with a stop over in Budapest (cold, gray, still great food)
6. Phone lost, phone returned, phone broken, anger, anger, and a brand new Blackberry (yes!)

This past weekend, we had friends visiting from the States and, like always, we managed to squeeze something into every minute of every day we had.

On Friday, we headed to Borscht and Tears for another debaucherous dinner avec lots of vodka. I won't actually tell you how many bottles of vodka were consumed, but it worked out almost to be a 1:1 ration. How can anything be so good and so bad at the same time? All in all, it was a short night and ended with many blurry eyed goodbyes into the cold London night.

Saturday morning we decided to make the most of our day despite waking up entirely too late. We poked around and met up with our friends at Gaucho Grill, an Argentinian steakhouse, where the noir decoration made it easy for my recovering eyes to handle light. My favorite thing about the restaurant was the fact that most of the walls were covered in pony hair (synthetic, I'd like to think) and they present you with an entire tray of raw steaks to show you the different cuts and sizes. Service like that just doesn't come around too often.

We then poked around to the National Gallery where a friend and I efficiently used the last opening hour to walk through the exhibit about the Renaissance Art of Siena. The exhibit was manageable and came complete with mini-catalogues (sans pictures) that more museums should use to attract the non-museum goer. It was informative and I appreciated the subject because it is not given a lot of attention.

Off to Jin for Korean bbq--yum! I tried their spicy seafood soup with ramen and, of course, it was a great success. The broth was spicy and the seafood plentiful. Just what the doctor ordered.

Finally on Sunday I spent a lazy day meandering New Bond Street (shopaholics beware) and window shopping the likes of Prada, Jimmy Choo, and Valentino. I finally landed at Nails Inc. to receive a much needed pedicure. And, as if luck was on my side, I plopped down in the pedicure chair right in front of the flat screen t.v. playing the 6th season of Sex and the City where Carrie goes with the Russian to Paris. It was bittersweet because it brought back my own fond memories of NY moments that just cannot be had anywhere else.

Last, but not least, we had a big dinner at a cheap Chinese/Japanese resto called "The Tortoise and the Hare" in the backwaters of Bloomsbury with some other friends. I had the Japanese Udon and it was a welcome respite from the cold dark night outside.

Weekend in a Nutshell

As the warm autumn weather continues, we take advantage of our friends, London, and some British sport.

Friday
1. No hot water! Yikes! Call landlord! Pump needs to be fixed? Move to the Marriot on Regent's Park. Weird, yes ,but I loved their super comfy bed and soft as silk sheets!

2. Jin for Korean--old friends, new friends. 8 of us altogether. Lots of bbqed beef, pork, and veggies not to mention too much Soju and Bek Se Ju drank with cheers all around. There were five different "cheers" represented at the table from Germany, Sweden, Israel, Serbia, and Switzerland!!!

3. Carbon bar--Catching up with friends we haven't seen in forever. Love this place and its drink list, music and industrial design. Many more drinks consumed. Yikes!


Saturday
1. Wake up-Where am I? Missed our wake up call and haul it to get back to our flat to meet the plumber who will be fixing our broken hot water pump.

2. SLEEP!

3. Rugby and middle Eastern--Head to a friend's flat to watch the rugby match. No cabs so we take an unexpected ride in a wonderful rickshaw down Park Lane. England claims a victory over France! Eaten over some yummy Iraqi cuisine. Long live the Queen!

4. Ride the night bus back home (for the first time ever) and listen to England celebrating in the background.


Sunday
1. Head to Phat Phuc for the best Vietnamese cuisine in London. The best beef pho I've ever had with notes of cinnamon in the broth. We also discovered they have great duck pancakes and shrim dim sum.

2. Walk down the King's Road and revel in the Sunday sunlight. Errands and some girlie shopping at Space NK apothecary.

3. Thai at the Blue Elephant coming up.

4. Back to school....

Sweater Weather..yee hawww!

I walked out of my door this morning to a breath of extremely crisp, fresh autumn air. It was lovely (as the Brits would say). The fog had also rolled in overnight and visibility was low but I didn't care because my street provided the perfect background for a "once upon in London" type of feeling. The whiteness of the fog against the dark stone or brick background of the Victorian buildings-stunning. What a way to start the day!

In keeping with the season's recent dip in temperatures and feeling dismayed at how little my wardrobe reflected autumn, I hopped on over to Kensington High Street after work to pick up some basic autumn gear.

Gap (I know, I know, how boring) was having a big sale which is great because I will never buy anything whole price there. I got two striped shirts (perfect for layering) and a wool black dress with a tie around the waist belt. It is extremely simple but classic.

Then I dangerously popped over to Jigsaw. I fell in love with everything I saw. Deep blues, browns and purples. Yum. I wish I could have bought the whole store. They have gorgeous tailoring like all of those little details that I would never think to add, but make all the difference (and Kate Middleton, William's on and off again squeeze is a buyer for them). I settled on a basic black, Italian merino wool sweater with the smallest bit of brown piping around the collar and wrists.

Autumn is here and I love it!

Ommmmmmm...

I just got back from a physically daunting class at Triyoga. It was a good reminder why exercise is sometimes better than chocolate and chips. I feel rejuvenated, cleansed, you know, all of those great benefits one feels after yoga.

Triyoga has a huge main studio painted white with a vaulted, beamed ceiling. To top off the ambience, they have huge windows with individual panes colored with blue, yellow and green glass. The studio is lit with soft lighting and often incense floats away from the Buddha statue in the corner of the room. A perfect haven for omming our life away. The centre is tucked away on a small street in picture perfect Primrose Hill, which is lined with boutiques, cafes, and small delicatessen type shops.

Only two more days until the weekend. Almost there...

Another Rainy Day in London

Today it rained and poured. Actually, it's still raining and pouring. Mixed with the shorter days and the autumn blaaahs are starting to kick in. It's officially tea and sweater season.